NOBLE
English coin introduced by Edward III in 1344 as a successor to the short-lived florin[1] or double-leopard[2] which had been over-valued in relation to its weight. The noble was tariffed at 80 pence, half a mark[3] or a third of a pound. Half- and quarter-nobles were also minted. The obverse depicted the King standing in a ship, allegedly a reference to the naval victory of the English over the French at Sluys. The last nobles appeared in the reign of Henry VIII (1526), when a new coin, the george noble (with reverse of St George and the Dragon), was briefly introduced as part of a plan to revalue the gold coinage. This coin, worth 6s 8d[4], took the place of the angel which was then increased in value from 6s 8d to 7s 4d[5].
Source: "Key Definitions in Numismatics" by James MacKay, Frederick Mueller Limited, London, 1982, page 91.
Reason: I collected coins when I was a teenager.
Explanations for non-coin-collectors:
1. The florin was originally 6 shillings (from 1344) and did not become 2 shillings in the modern sense until the name was revived in 1849.
2. Leopard = 3 shillings, also introduced in 1344.
4. Mark - originally 8 ounces (half a pound) in the Carolingian Empire
5. For anyone who doesn't know, there were 12 pence in 1 shilling (12d in 1s) and 20 shillings in 1 pound. So 6s 8d was a third of a pound.